Buttoner



' 'J. SULLIVAN. I

BUTTONER.

' No. 429,661-. Patented June 10, 1890.

WITNESSES 1%E6TOZ v Mfi/a wa "m: mmms PETERS cm, mom-mum, msmmran, l2. c4

.To all whom it may concern:

, UNITED STATES Z PATENT OFFICE.

' JAMES M. SULLIVAN, ()F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

BUTTQNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 429,661, dated June 10, 1890. Application filed December 9,1889. Serial no. 333.136. (NomodeL) Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-Hooks; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such'as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a buttoning device adapted to be used as a glove or shoe buttoner; and it consists in a certain construction and arrangement of parts, whereby a glove or shoe may be quickly and easily buttoned, accomplishing the buttonin g operation without tearing the button from the glove or injury to the button-hole, as is incident in the employment of buttoning devices or buttonhooks in common use, all of which will be hereinafter more fully set forth, and the' essential features of the device pointed out particularly in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, Figure l is a view showing the application of the device as in buttoning a glove. the under side of the buttoner. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of same. Fig. 4. is a central longitudinal section through Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an isometrical view of the buttoner.

Like letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The body of .the buttoner is formed of a hollow tube A, provided at its rear end with the knob or head 0 and having the longitudinal slot 0 through the periphery thereof.

D is sleeve provided on opposite sides with the finger-pieces or wings a. Said sleeve encircles the tube A and is adapted to slide thereon.

f indicates the stem of the button-hook, carrying on its outer end the head h, which is made of spring metal, and is flanged over on its under face, forming the clutch or hook c to engage the button, said head hbeing split at c 0, allowing it to expand to receive alarge button, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The inner end of the stem flies within the hol- Fig. 2 is an elevation of low of the tube A and receives the screw .9,

that passes through the sleeve D and the slot 0 in the tube, thereby securing the stem f to the sleeve D.

The coiled spring F is located within the tube A and is confined between the rear end of said tube and the inner end ,of the stem f, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The tension of the spring holds the stem f extended when the device is not being employed in the operation of buttoning.

The arms tand uuare made of spring metal and formed integral with a cylindrical terminal or base common to all. Said base receives the forward end of the tube A and is secured thereto bymeans of the collar e. (See Fig. 4.) Said arms extend parallel with and surround the stem f, their free ends closing thereon, the stem passing some distance beyond the end of said arms and terminatingin the head It, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The upper arm 25 is bent down at its forward end, forming the nose 6', which bears upon the upper face of the stem f. The under edges of the arms a u'meet andare provided at their forward end with the downwardly extending flanges ct a and the upwardly-projecting ears or lugs o r, asclearly shown in Fig. 5.

The operation of the device is as follows: The buttoner is held with the head 0 resting in the palm of the hand, the fingers on the wings a 0..- The head it of the stem f is passed through the button-hole and hooked overthe corresponding button. As the stem f is inserted in the'button-hole, the ears 1) Q7 of the therethrough, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, in

which E indicates the sleeve of a glove, and

in which position the flanges a a of the arms to to lie within the button-hole. By a pressure with the fingers on the wings a a the sleeve D slides back, drawing the stem f and compress ing the spring F, the screw .9 traveling in the slot '0 of the tube A. As the head It is drawn into contact with the free ends of the arms a u, the swell of said head causes the arms to spring apart, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. As said arms spread, the flanges a a thereof open the button-hole, permitting the head h to pass freely therethrough. The nose e of the arm t carries the goods over the end of the head 72, so that when the wings a a are released the spring F forces the stem f forward, causing the head It to free itself from {he button, leaving said button in the butt0n- 'The above-described buttoning operation may be performed quickly and easily and without danger of tearing the button from the glove or injury to the button-hole.

In a shoe-buttoner the head It will be made concavo-convex in form to receive the round button of the shoe.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A button-hook comprising the following elements: the hollow tube having the head at one end, the coiled springin said tube, the sleeve having wings thereon, the stem carrying the head 71, coupled to said sleeve, and the'springarms encircling the stem f, said arms being coupled to the tube, for the pur' poses specified.

2. In a device for the purposes set forth, the combination of the hollow slotted tube having a head at one end, a spring in said tube, the stem f, carrying the hooked head at one end, the opposite end fitting loosely in said tube, the sleeve mounted slidingly on said tube, and set-screw coupling same to the stem in said tube, the spring-metal arms t and u a,

said arms being made fast to one end of said having a head at one end, the coiled spring therein, the sleeve having wings a loosely mounted thereon, the stem f, loosely fitted within the hollow body and being coupled to the sleeve D, the head it, split at c c, the arm 25, having the nose e, and the arms a u, having the downwardly-projecting flanges and upwardly-projecting ears, said arms being coupled to the end of the hollow body by means of the collar e, as and for the purposes specified.

4. A button-hook comprising ahollow body, a coiled spring in said body, a sleeve slidingly mounted on said body, wings projecting from said sleeve, a stem slidingly located in said hollow body, said stem being coupled to the sliding sleeve and having at its free end a booked and expansible head, and a series of spring-metal arms having projections at their outer ends, said arms being coupled to one end of the hollow body, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presenceof two witnesses.

JAMES .M. SULLIVAN. \Vitnesses:

R. B. WHEELER, E. S. WHEELER. 

